No Fire Practice

Nothing to report on...

Sidley Mountain Cowboy Church

We had a terrific turnout last Sunday evening.... What a wonderful time we had as we celebrated Easter.  

The true message of Easter can be summed up by John 3:16-17

Most of us spend considerable time and energy trying to get people to like us, let alone love us.   But here it is “He knew me.... yet he loved me!”   

When the law failed, when there was no hope, when there was no way out!  The Gospel came!  

Over 600 solders spat on Him, they beat on Him and they plucked His beard!  And when they had finished their cruel mocking they led him away to be crucified.  Yet even then as Jesus hung on the cross He asked the Father to forgive the people.....   And that my friends is GOOD NEWS! 

To be politically correct I’m told it is “adequate news”  thereby I show no prejudice to other news.  In that vain of thought I’m told it is no longer Good Friday, but “Adequate Friday”....  Well I got news for the politically correct watch dogs:  It is good news!  And it is Good Friday! And it is even a Better Resurrection Sunday!   

Something far more than adequate happened at Calvary! 

It was late in the afternoon that the Lord laid this message on  my heart - I didn't really know why until later on in the week.  A neighbor who attended was so moved by the message his hope was rekindled.  PTL

Just Listen

Language is a great gift from God that sets us apart from every other creature. But sometimes our words are misunderstood.

The words we use to communicate can be very powerful.
Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.”Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, health to the bones.Proverbs 25:11 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

We often forget the hurtful words we spoke, but we rarely ever forget those death words that were spoken to us. They have a way of lingering in our lives and they can cause emotional distress, bitterness, and resentment.

Words can soothe, more importantly they can inspire, encourage and give life. 

Proverbs 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

So we need to be very careful how we use them. Words can make us happy, or sad, they can make us angry or fill us with joy, they can make us laugh or cry. They can heal or they can hurt. Words are an important part of life.

Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death.”

Whoever said, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” didn’t have a clue what they were talking about.

This message was really well received, and I believe we all had a good time in the house of the Lord yesterday.

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

PPE & SCBA

Practice last night was a bit of theory and some hands on.  I had all the members don their PPE and then buddy checked each other.  Simple, but very important!  PPE is the first defense for the firefighter.  Once that was done we played what's in your pocket, and discussed the importance of individual rescue / safety tools.  Then I tried, could have been better I think to show how each FF had to know where their stuff was located and questioned them on ease of access while wearing BA and or laying down.

We then had three of the FFs don and doff SCBA.  Then step by step we went through BA emergencies.  I probably spent too much time on this subject - but then again it is where most fireground LODDs get their start.

All in all, not a bad night - I did catch myself telling war stories (firefighters (old ones) are great at that).
Survival is the only benchmark of success for a firefighter.

"A Few Choice Words"

Scripture: Proverbs 25:11

Yesterday’s message was very well received. We had some interaction and that always encourages me.  I wish I was better at asking the right questions… those types of questions that bring about more interaction. 

                                                                           

Sometimes words meant to spur people on toward action, fall on deaf ears, but that wasn’t the case yesterday. 

We laughed at ourselves when we spoke about our polite greetings like, “Good to see you” “let’s get together sometime” “How are you” “Have a nice day.” because we were honest enough to see that most often they are gracefully disguised ways of saying, “Keep your distance I’m just being polite.”

Most of us don’t expect a real significant answer. 

One statement that I saw a few people jot down was “God’s word may not always tell me what I want to hear, but it always tells me what I need to hear.”

Judi read Proverbs 21:23 out of the New Living Bible and it got a chuckle or two - “If you’d just keep your mouth shut you’d stay out of trouble!”  

We concluded there was no nice way to say that to your spouse.

Perhaps I should have spent a bit more time on the following point… we often forget the hurtful words we spoke, but we rarely ever forget those death words that were spoken to us. They have a way of lingering in our lives and they can cause emotional distress, bitterness, and resentment.

All and all, a great morning with wonderful  brothers and sisters.

Psalm 19:14  Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Why MT Musings

I hope to post a few thoughts (musings) here on Monday and Thursday mornings.  Thus the MT (empty for my brain at times) .  My Monday thoughts will be more of a personal critique of Sunday's message.  Perhaps a bit of a "I wish I would have said..." or "That went well... " type of postings.  Usually Judi does her grocery shopping right after church and that allows me 45 minutes of contemplation regarding that day's message.  Hopefully we can all gain some deeper awareness of God's intended Word to us.  
As for Thursday's musings, I have the honor of training the Greenwood Fire Department (a great bunch) and since I have a 45 minute  drive home after practice (funny it takes the same time to get there) I have time to reflect upon how well practice went.  So hopefully an up close and personal critique of my lesson will help us get a better understanding of firefighter safety.